Hi, I’m Ananya Ragavendiran, a ceramic artist from Coimbatore. My journey with clay began in 2023, centered mainly around the practice of wheel throwing.

Sitting at the pottery wheel became the first place where I felt completely at ease. Throwing on the wheel demands your full attention ,you can’t rush it or pretend to be somewhere else. As my hands work with the clay, everything else fades into the background. The constant noise in my mind becomes quiet, and I feel present. There are no expectations, no pressure to perform, just me and the clay responding to each other.

Today, my work grows from that feeling of calm and honesty.

Artist Statement: My journey with clay began quite unexpectedly. A few years ago, I wouldn’t have imagined art becoming such a significant part of my life. Without a formal background in the arts, I found my way into it through curiosity, and what began as hobby,  a way to pass the time without much thought or expectation, slowly grew into something more.

Even when I enrolled in a professional course, pottery was still all fun and games. It was only much later that I began finding my footing and discovering what working with clay could mean to me.

People often ask me what my language is as an artist, what defines my style. Honestly, I don’t think I’ve found one, and I’m not particularly looking for one either. I don’t want to confine myself to a single aesthetic or way of working. I’m drawn to the idea of constantly exploring, experimenting, and creating functional pieces that are distinct from one another, each challenging me to learn something new and push beyond what I already know.

At the heart of it all, though, is a simple intention: to bring art into the everyday. Through functional ceramics, I want to make art a part of the mundane, transforming the ordinary rituals of daily life into something a little more thoughtful, and meaningful.